The light rain quickly transformed into a raging storm, lightning struck in the distance as the S.S. rank Tolu stood bathed in the darkness of the clouds. Its skin was the sole light source, pulsating in a dark and intense shade of purple.
Mina stood, struck, staring at the creature that stood in the same spot where Xavier had last been seen.
" Mina! Mina!" Her earpiece came to life as Captain Telon had yet to receive a response from her. " Please report."
The Tolu seemed to scan the battlefield, though no eyes were visible, it seemed to look directly at each of us. . .Kala started to slowly walk away from the scene. Me and Liza stood, eyes locked onto the creature waiting for any movement.
I saw the kid crawl from behind the Tolu, he scrambled to his feet the best he could and ran as his feet splashed threw the water. . .If he survived that means Xavier made it in time but-
" He didn't make it." Liza's voice trembled as she spoke, the rain substituted for her tears as they rolled her eyelashes down her cheek. " He lost his life protecting that boy."
" Crumble."
Behind us, Kala tripped backward over a piece of concrete from a destroyed building causing it to fall to the floor. That sound seemed to bring Mina back to life.
" Ah! Captain Telon S.S. Rank spot-"
" Fwip"
Suddenly, the Tolu materialized next to her, abruptly cutting her off mid-sentence. Without hesitation, it forcefully swung its right leg and struck Mina's side with a swift kick.
Mina was picked up off her feet from the impact and sent flying into a mess of concrete that was piled up on each other. The impact of her landing caused some of the debris to fall to the ground.
"Mina!" I screamed as the Tolu appeared in front of me, extending its hand with an open palm. "Shink." Its fingers transformed into sharp claws, resembling those of a cat. I didn't have enough time to react and instinctively brought up my hands to minimize the damage.
A flash of light blinded me as it always did and I heard the sound of claws scratching on metal. My eyes adjusted to find Liza in front of me and my left arm now missing. The Tolus attack had been blocked by Liza but I could tell she was struggling to hold it back.
Her feet cut into the dirt as the Tolu pushed forward, I placed my hand on her back in an attempt to support her but It did nothing.
The Tolu threw two more strikes, claws struck the dagger pushing me and Liza back. With its left, it threw a strike in an upward motion. Mina adjusted the blade to block but the force broke her guard. The Tolu raised its front leg and landed a kick on her stomach.
The kick hit Liza into me, causing all the air to leave my lungs. We bounced off the ground into a roll where Liza went off in a different direction than me. I came to a stop smacking my head off. a piece of concrete sticking up from the earth causing my vision to get hazy.
I heard heavy footsteps approaching, each one shaking the ground beneath me. As I looked up, a massive creature loomed over me, its purple body pulsating hideously.
" Of course, you go after me first. . ." My words were quiet as I struggled with my empty lungs. ' They always do."
The creature took one more step at me before raising its right fist ready to kill me. It retracted its claws and intended to kill me with a single strike from its fist.
" Fwip."
The Tolu turned around quickly blocking a strike from Mina! Who was still in the fight. . .I thought she was done after the strike she received. In the few moments I had, I examined her for injuries. A single streak of blood ran from her mouth down her lip. other than that she was fine from the outside.
The Tolu shoved Mina away with a single motion of its arm. She skidded to a halt as the Tolu moved forward, ready to attack again.
Before it could move, Mina sent a gust of wind like a punch at Tolu, landing on its shoulder and knocking it off balance.
From the right, a goddess followed by rose petals capitalized on the opportunity, landing a clean strike with her sword against its head. Followed by a spinning kick to its chest sending it sliding back.
" Argh!" A pain rushed through the left side of my body, as she landed. Noticing, Liza quickly came to my aid.
" Are you okay?"
" M-My arm."
Liza looked at the sword with a big chip out of it, looking toward the Tolu. She saw the piece of the sword stuck in its head. The Tolu then raised its arm slowly as it yanked that piece of metal out of its head tossing it to the ground.
The Tolu emanated a fiercely vibrant shade of purple, towering over the battlefield with an imposing presence. The sword merely caused a scratch on the skin, which promptly repaired itself and fused back together.
" AH!" The pain on my right side was intense. Liza looked at me, then back to the Tolu, which was standing a couple of feet away in front of Mina, its dominating presence cast a shadow on the battlefield.
" Liza! Don't worry about him and back me-"
Without hesitation, The Tolu abruptly interrupted her sentence and launched a ferocious attack with a powerful fist. Reacting swiftly, Mina raised her sword with precision, successfully blocking the intended fatal blow.
The force was too strong, lifting Mina once more and throwing her into a nearby building. The dust from Tolu and Minas' swift collision obscured our view, leaving only a horrendous purple hue visible.
Liza looked back to me, then her gaze shifted to the chipped sword. We both know what will happen if it breaks. My arm will be gone. . .But she'll only be down a weapon. . . I'm willing to sacrifice an arm for our lives.
I shot Liza a confident look, hoping she understood what I was trying to say, as the pain in my arm prevented me from speaking.
She looked down at me and smiled, as a cloud of dust appeared behind her which morphed into the Tolu. Its fist was prepared to strike the back of her head and Liza had only just noticed it's presence... I tried to scream but it only resulted in groans of agony.
A blinding light once more as I felt the pain of my right arm returning, Then a sound that resembled that of a glass plate rang in my ears.
As the light died, I saw Liza striking the Tolu in a swift upward motion with her new sword. The Tolu's right shoulder had been cut and its skin shot up to the sky like glass. Purple blood spilled from the wound, but the Tolu remained silent as it recoiled from the impact.
I looked at my arm which seemed to have a chunk of skin torn from it leaving hot flesh behind as blood fell to the floor. I bit my lip which too began to bleed.
Liza flipped her sword around and went for a follow-up strike, The blade descended for its neck but last second the Tolu twisted its body evading the strike. The Tolu pulled its fist back, aiming to strike Liza's ribs. In response, she waved her free hand, conjuring a flurry of rose petals that flew into the Tolu's face and presumably blinding it.
Liza spun around gathering momentum for an upward swing directly into the Tolu's face. The blade cut threw the conjured rose petals but the Tolu seemingly predicted the attack as it flipped backward gathering some distance from Liza.
The Tolu skidded to a halt before standing tall once again. Reminding us who the dominating factor was. The slash on its shoulder had already mostly healed as the last drops of purple blood fell to the floor.
Purple blood. . .All Tolu I've faced up to this point contained blue blood. I guess this too lets us know that this is no ordinary being.
I heard Liza weighted breathing as she desperately tried to fill her lungs with air, that short stent of combat had exhausted her that much. . .If this keeps up, not a single one of us will survive.